Waiting to be called mama
A poem for the mama waiting for her children to verbally call her mama
Author: Laurie Davis
Joy and anxiety – It’s complicated after a long NICU stay
Don’t get me wrong there is so much joy and relief, when bringing a baby home after a long NICU stay. And everyone is celebrating alongside you. But it isn’t that simple. The trial isn’t quite over. You see if a baby is in the NICU for a long period …
Encouragement for when breastfeeding feels impossible
Raise your hand if breastfeeding was harder than you imagined it would be. I’m waving mine frantically in agreement. And even though breastfeeding was the right path for me and my two babies, I want to say that I support a mom in whatever method she uses to nourish her …
What Down syndrome teaches us about embracing our timeline
As the year comes to a close, it ushers us into a time of holiday celebrations and anticipation for the new year. And after this crazy year we’ve had, I know we look forward with hope for a better year. But before we rush into making goals and plans for …
Parenting never ends, if you are lucky
Parenting never ends, if you are lucky. I don’t know this because I have many years of parenting experience. I’m just getting started on my parenthood journey myself. I know this because I just spent the last week traveling across the country with my dad. See when my husband and …
Exchanging fear for joy in a Down syndrome diagnosis
Down syndrome is misunderstood. My flowing tears after receiving the diagnosis for my own child revealed my assumptions about Down syndrome. I knew the physical features of Down syndrome, so my child would visually stand out. Growing up the kids with Down syndrome were in special education classrooms, so I …
Joy can be found in the unexpected
This time last year, I still expected to be pregnant for another eight weeks. While some complications were being monitored, I really had no idea what was in store for me and my baby boy in the next few days. I knew that I was unbelievably uncomfortable. I couldn’t imagine …
What’s it like to be a special needs parent?
What’s it like to be a special needs parent? We’ve been on this parenting journey for almost two and half years now. And we started out the gate as special needs parents. Very few people choose the special needs world. For the rest of us we are thrust into this …
Reflections on 66 days in the NICU
In 66 days my little baby boy will be a year old. And I know that I’m going to blink and it will be his birthday, but the first 66 days of his life in the NICU were anything but fast. I felt every painstakingly long moment as we were …
Learning a new language in my 30s
I’ve never really been one for learning a new language. In fact, when everyone else was learning Spanish or French, my middle school self decided to pick Latin – a dead language. I ended up taking many years of Latin and I really don’t have much to show for it. …